Encounters With Draco
by sam0506
Summary: The path to acceptance and awkward encounters with Draco Malfoy. Post-DH/Pre-Epilogue.
1. Madam Malkins and Ron

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter... sad.

_A/N: Hola, friends! So I'm not abandoning The Closure of Knowing. I'm planning on finishing the next chapter during a long flight I have to take on Wednesday. So, hopefully it will be up Wednesday night if I have internet connection when I land. In the meantime, enjoy the first installment of a three-part fic. JK Rowling stated that Harry and Draco develop a certain begrudging respect for each other following the war. In my mind, Ron and Hermione probably have a similar sort of relationship with Draco. Perhaps not to the same degree as Harry, but they wont be punching him out or anything. The first chapter will be from Ron's POV, the second from Hermione's, and the last from Harry's. The parts will be set in November 2002, November 2000, and November 2004, respectively. Why November? I don't know. It fits with the timeline I have going on in my head. The years are out of order because it signifies each character's level of trust in Draco. Ron will always kind of hate him, while Harry is the most accepting. Hope you enjoy it!_

**November 2002**

Ron stepped out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, wiping soot off of his trousers. It was just three short weeks until his wedding and Ron had been told by a frazzled Hermione that he _had_ to pick up his dress robes _that day_. He honestly didn't see what the big hurry was, as they still had almost a month until the actual wedding, but he didn't feel the need to press the matter with his fiance.

Hermione seemed to be at wits end as of late and Ron completely blamed his mother. Sure, Molly Weasley was a god-send when it came to children, cooking, and—surprisingly—defensive magic, but the woman was a terror concerning weddings.

Neither Ron nor Hermione had wanted large and flashy wedding like Harry and Ginny had two years before. They just weren't like that.

For the first couple of months of wedding planning, things went smoothly. They hadn't completely decided on anything, per-se, but they had both agreed that another Burrow wedding was something neither of them wanted.

Soon, however, owls started coming in from Ron's mother, asking Hermione out shopping or over for tea. While these invitations seemed harmless enough—a mother simply spending time with her future daughter-in-law—there was an ulterior motive.

When Hermione came back from tea at the Burrow one Saturday afternoon, she looked distinctly uneasy. At first, Ron thought his mother might have said something to offend his future wife, but he soon learned that Hermione had actually been the victim of a Weasley guilt trip.

Owls from the Burrow soon became a daily occurrence and Hermione began to feel more and more guilty about not having a Burrow wedding and not inviting all of Ron's third and fourth cousins.

Eventually, Hermione broke and gave in to his mum's requests.

Any hope of a small wedding went out the window and, even though Ron and Hermione's big day wouldn't be nearly as grandiose as Harry and Ginny's nuptials, it still made Ron mad.

They had waited to have their wedding to avoid this very problem!

Ron and Hermione had gotten engaged just a few months after Harry and Ginny, but unlike Harry and Ginny, they decided to wait a couple of year before tying the knot.

Ron had his reasons, too. He always thought that Harry and Ginny getting married so young and so quickly was a bad idea. It wasn't because he didn't want to see his little sister marry off, he had gotten over that after the war, it was because he thought that being impulsive was stupid when they had all the time in the world.

Also, after George and Angelina eloped, depriving his mum of a wedding to plan, Ron knew that Mrs. Weasley would completely take over the next wedding to come along. Stupidly, Ron thought that if he and Hermione waited a couple of years then his mum would get over her planning craze and leave them alone.

Even after all of Ron's evasive maneuvers and planning, it became clear that they were going to have a big Weasley wedding. And that was why Ron was on his way to Diagon Alley on a Sunday morning.

"Hey, Ron! Stopping in for some food?" Hannah called from behind the bar.

"Hey, Hannah. Sorry, can't stay. I'm supposed to pick up dress robes for the wedding." Ron replied with a grimace as he eyed the plates of delicious looking food some of the other patrons had in front of them.

Hannah laughed at Ron's expression. "Good idea not to stay, then. You don't want to upset the bride."

"Something tells me she'll find another reason to be upset with me." Ron replied.

"Really? I can't imagine Hermione being so uptight about a wedding. If it were a work project or school assignment, I could see it, but she doesn't really seem into that stuff."

Ron sighed. "She's not, it's my mum. She's _really_ looking forward to me getting married."

"Ahhh," Hannah said in understanding. "Hey, at least your mum likes Hermione. Neville's Gran hates me."

It was true, of course. Augusta Longbottom didn't think Hannah, or really anyone, was good enough for her war-hero grandson, but Ron felt he should disagree for posterity's sake. "Nah, she probably just doesn't know you, yet."

"Uh-huh," the barmaid replied in a disbelieving tone. "Sure, that's what it is," she paused, looked at something over Ron's shoulder, and cursed. "Damn, Mr. Crowley is waving me over. He probably wants to send his food back—_again_. I have to go take care of that. Good luck with the dress robes. I'll see you at the wedding!"

Now, if he were Hermione or Ginny, he would stay and ask Hannah about her and Neville's relationship and get his former classmate to give up details about their inevitable engagement. But, since Hannah wasn't technically engaged as of yet, and Ron didn't feel completely comfortable asking about another bloke's relationship, he waved goodbye, sent his regards to Neville, and left the bar.

Once inside Diagon Alley, Ron huffed in frustration. Madam Malkin's shop was at the far end of the alley, meaning that he had to walk right past Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Normally, Ron stopped by George's shop whenever he was in the area, but he didn't really feel like chatting about skiving snackboxes and Freddy's upcoming first birthday today.

He really just wanted to apparate to the other end of the alley, but it was kind of a rude thing to do in a crowded shopping area, even if it was full of wizards. Suddenly, Ron spotted Angelina stepping out of the shop and heading his way, probably to pick up a late breakfast from the Leaky Cauldron.

Ducking behind a kiosk that peddled toy broomsticks, Ron cursed under his breath and decided to hell with politeness. Turning on the spot, he apparated to the other end of the alley, right in from of Madam Malkin's.

The bell on the door jingled tinnily when he entered the small shop. Ron didn't have to wait long for Madam Malkin to appear. The squat witch bustled up to Ron, craning her neck to be able to see him properly. "Ah, Mr. Weasley. You're here to pick up your wedding robes, correct?"

"Um, yeah." Ron said, slightly flustered by the woman's direct demeanor.

"Right this way, then. If you'll just try them on to make sure they still fit correctly." Madam Malkin gestured towards an area sectioned off by a thick, dark blue drape. Ron suppressed another sigh, he hated trying stuff on.

Changing out of his regular clothes, Ron paused when he heard the bell on the door chime followed by an awfully familiar voice.

"Hello," said the voice.

"Mr. Malfoy, what brings you here today?" Madam Malkin asked, cheerily.

"I'm in need of some new robes for the Gringotts Christmas Party." replied Malfoy in a drawl tone.

Ron resumed trying on his robes, but he couldn't help but notice that some of the haughtiness had left Draco Malfoy's voice since the last time Ron had seen him.

Ron stepped out of the dressing area in his dark green dress robes and he had to admit that he was happy that he would be wearing them when he saw Malfoy for the first time since the Death Eater trials. It would be nice to be dressed nicer than the smug son of a bitch for once.

Malfoy was standing on the raised platform in the center of the shop, while Madam Malkin's magical tape swirled around various parts of Draco's body, taking careful measurements.

Madam Malkin spotted Ron after a few moments. "Don't you look smart, Mr. Weasley!" she exclaimed. "Let me check the seams and the fit." Ron stepped up to the short woman and stood still while she measured the length of the sleeves and hem.

"Well, this forest green will look amazing next to the aubergine in the sash on Ms. Granger's dress and the bridesmaid dresses." Madam Malkin continued to espouse the benefits of the color pattern of the outfits, but Ron tuned her out. The seamstress was incredibly nice, but she tended to ramble on about her craft ad nauseam, not needing any prompting or response.

Instead, Ron studied Malfoy out of the corner of his eye. His former classmate seemed a bit less weary than the last time Ron saw him. Perhaps, estrangement from Lucius had done Malfoy some good.

It also may have been his new relationship. Hermione had told Ron a couple of weeks ago that Malfoy had started dating her assistant, Astoria.

From what Ron could tell through brief encounters with Astoria, she seemed very nice. Apparently, she was pretty competent, too, otherwise Hermione would have fired her long ago.

Whatever the reason, Malfoy seemed a lot more put together than he had after the war.

Malfoy seemed to suddenly notice Ron's presence and turned towards him. "Weasley." he said by way of acknowledgment.

"Malfoy." Ron responded.

Malfoy shifted from one foot to the other before adding to the conversation. "Buying dress robes?" the blonde wizard asked, even though he obviously knew the answer.

Ron was a bit suspicious of this sudden civility, but answered all the same. "Yeah, for the wedding. Mine didn't fit anymore."

"Oh, yes. Astoria mentioned that you and Granger were getting married soon." Malfoy said.

"Yeah, next month. Though, Hermione wont really be Granger anymore after that." Ron said all of this in almost a taunting tone, as if to force Malfoy into saying something rude. While Ron knew it was petty, he really didn't trust Malfoy and almost wanted him to say something derogatory about Hermione. At least then he would be able to hex Malfoy into oblivion and not really feel guilty about it.

"I suppose that's true. I'll have to call her Weasley now, not that I see her that often. Astoria and I tend to keep to ourselves." The last part of Malfoy's statement was meant to be a jab at the somewhat public nature of Ron and Hermione's relationship. Ron didn't take it as an insult, however. He had come to terms with the fact that, before the war, he and Hermione were the only two people who didn't know they were in love with each other. Nowadays, Ron couldn't care less what rumors were being spread about them.

"Oh, well that is probably prudent..." Ron replied awkwardly, unable to think of a suitable response and forced to use a word he rather hated. Prudent was the kind of word that made his skin crawl. This was probably because Hermione always used it when she yelled at him for doing something dangerous or stupid. Luckily, he was saved from having to say any more by Madam Malkin.

"Ok, Mr. Weasley. Everything seems to be in order. If you have any problems with the stiching or if something doesn't fit, just stop on by again and I'll take care of it. Go on and change out of these and I'll pack them up for you." Madam Malkin ordered.

Ron quickly walked back to the dressing area, glad to get back into his regular clothes. Dress robes weren't the most comfortable type if clothing.

After changing, he handed the dress robes back to Madam Malkin who made quick work of wrapping them up.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Weasley. Tell Ms. Granger that I'm expecting her in two weeks for a final fitting."

"Thanks and I'm sure she knows, but I'll tell her." Ron said with a bit of a smile.

As Ron was about to exit the tiny shop, he heard Malfoy call his name. "Weasley."

Ron turned around to look back at his former classmate.

"Congratulations on the wedding." Malfoy said, somewhat begrudgingly. "Astoria would want me to say that." he finished ruefully.

Ron nodded in thanks and walked out into Diagon Alley. "Not a complete ass," Ron muttered under his breath. "But I still don't like him."


	2. Goblins and Hermione

_A/N: So, I know... I'm a loser. I haven't updated in almost a year and my longer fic has been around for two years and remains rather untouched. To be fair, college is difficult, especially for science majors (lots of time spent in lab, or thinking about lab). Plus, being an adult also involves holding down a job, kind of a bummer. Not that any of this can be truly used as an excuse, but maybe it'll help a bit. Unfortunately, through the process of moving out of my dorm and my family moving to a different state, my HP books have been packed away. This means that The Closure of Knowing probably wont get any attention until next month, as I need the books for the direct quotes. Yes, I know that tomatoes are probably being thrown at many computer screens as we speak (But not really, because I'm sure wonderful nerds such as yourselves would not dare harm the very magical box that connects you to the internet). Fortunately, I have a bit more time on my hands at the moment and will hopefully write more often, updating my other fics and maybe starting some new short ones. _

**November 2000**

Hermione Granger sat behind a large pile of memos, scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. It had been a long day full of red tape and bureaucracy. She was looking forward to that evening when she and Ron would head over to Harry and Ginny's.

The newlywed couple had just gotten back from their honeymoon, as they had to postpone their original trip so Harry could complete an Auror mission. Ron and Hermione were happy to be able to see their friends again and catch up.

There was a knock on her office door and Hermione stifled a groan. People had been popping in all day, adding to her workload, already made heavy by the Gringotts refurbishment that was to take place this month.

While the upkeep and renovation of Gringotts wasn't usually under the purview of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, the new legislation that Hermione had passed ensured the safety and fair treatment of many species of magical creatures-one such species being Goblins. Now, Hermione was being inundated with forms and approvals for Goblin work orders.

"Come in." Hermione sighed, shifting the pile of memos so she could actually see the person approaching her desk. Much to her surprise, she saw a familiar blonde man step into her office.

"Oh, hello...Malfoy." she said in a very formal manner.

"Granger." he nodded. "You're the person in charge of Goblin work orders, correct?"

Hermione paused. She hadn't realized that Malfoy would have any interest in the rights of magical creatures. "Umm, yes. Why do you ask?"

Malfoy sighed in exasperation. "I work at Gringotts and my bosses are wondering what the hell is taking so long." He seemed to really hate having to talk to her and Hermione was somewhat pleased with his discomfort.

"What's taking so long?" Hermione repeated angrily, standing up to her full height. Not really that menacing of a pose, because while Hermione was of average height for a girl, she was still a good bit shorter than Draco. "Have you ever processed over a thousand work orders, Draco?" Hermione asked with a glare.

Malfoy seemed rather surprised that Hermione had called him by his first name, but made no move to actually answer her question, assuming it was rhetorical.

Hermione continued her rant. "Because it's quite a bit of paperwork. And, the work conditions at Gringotts are not yet up to code. You can go and tell your bosses that until they expand the Goblin's break area and up their pay, I cannot sign off on these." To illustrate her argument, Hermione picked up a tall stack of the aforementioned work orders and tossed them haphazardly back onto her desk. She was going to regret that later, but her point was sufficiently made for the time being.

Malfoy stood there for a moment, one eyebrow raised at the sight of Hermione's now messy desk. Pushing a hand through his hair and sighing, Malfoy looked directly at the muggle-born witch and simply replied, "Alright."

Hermione opened her mouth to deliver an angry retort, but stopped suddenly, her jaw still partially open. Finally she spoke. "Alright? You're saying alright? No snarky remark about my blood status or appearance?" she asked, stunned.

"No," Draco replied, almost guiltily, "This matter really doesn't concern me directly, so why should I care? One of my bosses will just be down here next week to yell at you, but I'll still have a job either way."

Hermione raised her eyebrows at the mention of Draco's bosses. "Oh, they're going to come yell at me, are they? Well, you can tell your bosses that I have had years to perfect my yelling skills and that angry retorts wont get them very far in this office." At the point where Hermione espoused her yelling abilities, Draco had muttered "I'll say" under his breath and smirked. There was no doubt in Hermione's mind that he was making a dig at her somewhat volatile relationship with Ron. Not that they fought nearly as much now as they did in school, but their fights were still considered legendary in the Weasley household.

Draco's un-muttered reply was simply, "I'll pass that along. I still do need fund authorizations that were put through your office for the replacement of the guard dragon." Hermione shuffled through her stack of completed forms before finding the correct one that allowed Gringotts to purchase a new guard dragon for their high security vaults, under the perview of one Charlie Weasley, of course. She was about to hand the form over but stopped suddenly.

Oddly curious, Hermione figured she would take this opportunity to find out exactly why Draco was so much less rude than he normally was around her. "Okay, I understand why you wouldn't care whether I signed the work orders or not, but that still doesn't explain why you haven't insulted me directly. As I recall, that was one of your favorite pastimes."

Malfoy, who had his arm stretched out to accept the form, dropped the appendage heavily and rolled his eyes. He stood silently for several moments before exhaling loudly, "Fine, Astoria thinks rather well of you and wouldn't be pleased to know that I was rude." He was, of course, referring to his girlfriend, Astoria Greengrass. Astoria worked on the same floor as Hermione and the two witches had been friendly for quite some time despite the fact that Astoria was a pure blood from an upstanding Slytherin family and Hermione was a Muggle-born engaged to a blood traitor.

"Oh," Hermione replied before beginning to laugh. It was quite comical to think that Draco Malfoy, a wizard who did anything he wanted without regard to others, would be so easily swayed by his girlfriend's opinion. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll stop," Hermione continued after seeing Malfoy's positively murderous expression, "Here's the form. Charlie Weasley's address is on the back and if you owl him, he'll begin the inspection and transfer process."

Malfoy stepped forward and practically ripped the parchment out of Hermione's hand. He looked rather embarrassed and moved quite quickly towards the door.

"Draco," Hermione called out, waiting for Malfoy to turn around, "you can tell your bosses that if they send me an owl and are open to pay negotiations for the Goblins, the authorization forms can be completed by the end of the week."

"I'll pass that along," Draco replied before practically jogging out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

Hermione looked down at the mess of parchment on her desk, but couldn't quite muster the energy to be angry about it. All she could think of was Malfoy's reaction to her laughter. Sitting down in her desk chair, Hermione began to laugh anew, thinking she couldn't wait to tell Ron about it later.


End file.
